The concept of a controller is one that Nintendo challenges. As the world settles in on one way of charging their controllers or button locations, Nintendo questions why catching a fish with a rod and reel shouldn’t feel the same
The real wildcard is the new landmass that floats in the sky, a location that could throw everything we know out the window and incorporate a playstyle that is completely different from anything we’ve seen before. Link ( or could it be Ganon or Zelda? ) is capable of morphing through solid objects and flying through the air, so perhaps the need for climbing is obsolete in these circumstances. There are so many questions, but even now it seems Nintendo is acknowledging some of the previous game’s flaws and instead of removing them, is introducing diverse new gameplay ideas that provide other avenues of movement and traversal. Don’t just ditch the encumbrance of climbing in the rain or fragile weapons – instead, provide alternate ways of movement and combat that force you to rethink previously frustrating moments in a new way. Blatant removal feels like cowardice.
Breath of the Wild is so special because every moment feels like a discovery you made on your own terms. A mixture of basic yet impactful abilities like stopping time and lifting metal objects allows you to play with the game’s definition of physics in ways that are still being discovered to this day. You can build a chain of metal weapons and charge them with lightning to activate a distant switch instead of following the traditional solution, showing that the game’s systems are built to be toyed with and taken advantage of in ways that have near limitless potential. Nobody will play Breath of the Wild in the same way, and given the open world genre largely remains defined by chasing down icons and Moonlight Altar Walkthrough completing repetitive objectives, this is a breath of fresh air that remains unmatched. You could argue “it doesn’t feel like Zelda” because its dungeon design abandons tradition, but the rewarding discoveries of Breath of the Wild are intentionally spread throughout the entirety of Hyrule.
However, neither of these games encourage experimentation like Breath of the Wild does, so it’s much easier to provide us with an easier mode of traversal instead of artificially increasing the time required to reach our destination. However you slice it, these games viewed climbing in the rain and weapon degradation as negatives, choosing to build upon Nintendo’s vision by removing them entirely. I understand why games that adopt so many of the ideas pioneered by Breath of the Wild opt to change them, because every game is different and it’s unfair to tar them all with the same brush. That being said, I don’t want the upcoming sequel to follow in their footsteps. Nintendo needs to stick to its guns, favouring clumsy wet traversal and obscenely delicate weapons over an adventure that simplifies things to the point of triviality.
It could be that I’m worrying over nothing, and Capcom plans to do Resident Evil 4 all the justice in the world, but many of the habits it has formed and repeated over the last generation have me thinking otherwise. I hope I’m proven wrong, since I’m still so excited for such a reboot, but not if it does a disservice to what came before
Resident Evil: Village is being developed using Capcom’s famous RE Engine ( Resident Evil 7 , Resident Evil 3 Remake , Devil May Cry 5 ) and will see the return of the first-person perspective that was introduced in RE7, and will have no loading times thanks to the new hardware. Based on the RE8 announcement trailer , the next-gen sequel will feature new types of enemies including werewolf-like beasts, a mysterious village cult, and witches, who are shown controlling a swarm of bugs and draining blood from Ethan. RE8 will also have a revamped inventory system that plays into the game’s larger focus on action – although we don’t know if that will be more in line with Resident Evil 3 action or the balanced approach of Resident Evi
Hyrule is no longer a land of the unknown. We’ve explored it for literal days as we talked to citizens, tackled shrines, and eventually saved the world. People know who we are and what we’ve accomplished, so take advantage of that reputation and use it to shape the land in our image. Link shouldn’t be given a voice, but for a narrative set in the here and now to work his identity will need to be cemented in the surrounding landscape. I want to step back into reimagined versions of Zora’s Domain and Kakariko Village and be greeted with open arms by a populace who are happy to see me and perhaps want help with a few local issues as a larger conflict rages on in the background.
There are countless ways to tackle the majority of combat encounters and puzzles, while exploration offers the same level of malleability as the world around you shifts and changes with the day/night cycle. It isn’t perfect, and I’ve expressed annoyance at rain grounding my heroic himbo on more than one occasion, but I’d be a fool to ask for its removal. Countless games have taken inspiration from Breath of the Wild’s revitalisation of the open world formula, with Genshin Impact and Immortals Fenyx Rising being the most notable, and guess what – they both let you climb in the rain. Mihoyo and Ubisoft likely recognised the occasional frustration of this and decided to make things easier for you, while also secretly knowing that it sacrifices something in the process.
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